Claudia Gurwitz - Artist

Location: Riebeek Valley

Claudia Gurwitz was born in Cape Town .

Claudia's art is drawn predominantly from the indigenous South African plants, and the strength and potency they hold. Her painting is certainly not botanical surveys, nor is it intended to be photo-realistic, or even entirely representational. The subject matter is almost irrelevant as her painting is about form and structure, about balance, harmony and tension. It’s about rhythm, contrasts and life force.

"Attention to detail is vital to me. I am a great observer of the detail of form and shapes in nature and in the human body. I have always observed the world through a micro setting, in an almost abstract way. I zone in on the small, unremarkable things in nature, an unnoticeable pine cone or a dried up, burnt out plant carcass. The symmetry of nature, paralled in the human body, has always fascinated me.By zoning in, I expose the essence of the object, I reveal its core. I cannot possibly depict these vital, awe-inspiring structures in small, less significant terms. This results in my bold, magnified representations of these life forms. I expose the texture, the movement, the intricate detail, the vitality of each natural form. The form is broken down into spirals, coils, whorls, circles, tendrils and cones."

Each piece of her art, taps into the coexistence and interdependence of nature’s male and female forces, and she explores the balance and harmony, that is reached through these opposing elements. Her holistic experiences as a yoga teacher and in the healing arts, has finely tuned her intuitive processes and this results in creations that sensitively align with each plant’s individual rhythm.

After her 9 year journey into the healing arts, Claudia returned to painting and a three-year tutelage under Julia Teale at Spencer Street Studio. Claudia has been living in her adopted hometown of Riebeek Kasteel since 2007. She finds peace and inspiration in the solitude of her studio. Art lovers can contact Claudia to arrange for a private viewing of her work from her home.